The Nature of Magic
The Nature of Magical Power Magic in the Shrouded Isles is not so simple as waving hands and evoking fireballs, all sources of power come from different sources of power. The legality of these sources of power is wildly varied, and their popularity of use is wildly different. This page offers a source by source breakdown, starting with the widely accepted and moving into the highly illegal. Perhaps the most essential piece of information for this article is that the world is only 200 years removed from Turoon's rebellion, any sources of magic that rely on him are inherently younger than those that bypass him. In addition, almost nothing is known about what powers existed before him, let alone before the dragons. Divine Power The most widely accepted and used magical power in the Shrouded Isles. During Turoon's conception of the world, he gave the islands powers based on the colors of the dragons he slew. He wasn't a fool, so he gave the mortals a way to channel that power in a safe way. This way was through the gods. The gods can be though of as safe viewing windows into the chaos of the draconic energy. Someone who uses divine magic has Turoon's protection from the corrupting draconic energy, and can channel it for good. That said, divine casters are not weaker than other typed of magic users. They have the same level of power, and the same reach to magical energy, they just do it with the blessing and protection of Turoon. Needless to say, the use of divine power through these channels is widely accepted. It is seen as the clean and proper way to use magic. Natural Power Natural power tends to fall into two categories, the first being more accepted than the second. Druids of Darvaak Druids of Darvaak channel their power in a similar way to divine casters, but at much closer proximity. They channel their power through the tree god Darvaak, but the way that they do that is much more dangerous than the way divine power is used. The main difference between these druids and divine clerics is that the druids live among their god, and must prove their worth to it. They spend their lives adventuring and revering Darvaak so that he may grant them blessings to use his power. Every time a druid of Darvaak uses his power, it is like they are using the same window as a cleric, but at a much closer distance. However, Darvaak is still a creation of Turoon, and to fail as an acolyte of Darvaak is not nearly as deadly as some of the other magical options. Drawing power from Darvaak is seen as risky by the general populace, but Darvaak's druids are respected. Druids of the Old Powers Druids of the Old Powers get their power from deep underground, channeling the power of the predecessors to modern mortals. These creatures manifest themselves in Druid's dreams as massive mushrooms, towering to the tops of great underdark caverns. The powers these creatures grant their followers is strange and not understood. Old Power Druid rituals include contaminating themselves with magical spores, traveling into cave systems to get closer to their overlords, and consuming psychedelic mushrooms to strengthen their connection to their power. Many powerful druids of this kind sprout mushrooms themselves, and spread their spores over the land they inhabit. Druids of the Old Powers are rare, and when they do exist, usually no one knows about their gifts. Drawing power from these sources is considered to be highly illegal. Most authorities consider this kind of magic to be a contamination on the islands. Wizardry Wizards tap into elemental power that predates Turoon, and even the dragons. They are experts in playing with the ambient elemental energy that exists without explanation in the Isles. They are manipulators of what magic scientists call "the Arcane Field" Archaeologists suggest that pre-Turoon society used this power as a fundamental resource to their creations. Before Turoon, great vehicles, deadly weapons, and powerful incantations were commonly fueled through this energy. Today, its limited use suggests it has not lost its power, but that may be the fundamental problem with wizardry. Wizardry is incredibly dangerous, and the theories behind this issue are mostly guesswork. Regardless, here they are: 1) The dragons were strong controllers of the arcane, and cast these spells themselves, 2) The dragons were conduits of magic, and instead of our modern divine magic, wizards would cast spells of an arcane nature through their power, 3) Turoon's use of such powerful arcane magic left the magic field in flux, and eventually it will even out. That said, wizardry is not unknown to the world of the Shrouded Isles. How could an entire society refuse such a power? Beyond that reasoning, young wizards tend to undershoot rather than overshoot, as channeling power requires mental strength that takes years to develop. The academic nature of wizardry makes it inherently safer than some of the other sources of magic. As such, wizardry is legal, though a cause of suspicion, when learned by a licensed mage in the School of Wizardry on the Silver Island. Outside of that, unlicensed wizards are burned or hanged. Draconic Sorcery The ability to channel power this way is a product of freak accident rather than study. Draconic Sorcery is considered one of the most dangerous aspects of magic. While divine magic is channeling draconic power with a safe window to hide behind, Draconic Sorcery is reaching out and directly touching that power with bare hands. Draconic Sorcerers have been known to accidentally kill kings, create volcanoes, and slaughter villages. While it is understood that these people have no choice in how they are born, people born with this power are sentenced to death for existing. They are simply to dangerous to be kept alive. Other Kinds of Sorcery Every other kind of sorcery is outlawed for similar reasons as above, but the nature of their magic is more like that of wizardry. These sorcerers are presumed to be the result of fluctuations in the arcane field that occurred at just the right time for the being to be imbued with arcane energy. The existence of these beings is used as evidence for the third theory listed in the Wizardry section of this article. However, alternative thinkers list these beings as being well within the vast majority of arcane knowledge that we do not understand. These sorcerers are outlawed, except for the rare times they have been taken as experiments by the Academy of Wizardry in the Silver Island. Warlock A warlock is someone who signs themselves away to some sort of greater being in exchange for magical power. The origin of this power varies from pact to pact. However, it is always illegal to be a warlock. The punishment for such a crime is always death. The empire views being a warlock as like being a sorcerer that chose to take on that power for personal gain, and for the most part, they are right. However, not every warlock is found out, many warlocks project their power similarly to that of a wizard. They understand and can control their power to the extent that they are indistinguishable from a wizard. This similarity is partially why the registry of wizards was created. Despite that measure, powerful warlocks have faked their way to the top of magical organizations. Famously, one of the presidents of the Academy of Wizardry, named Uyu Oveon, was outed as a warlock and immediately executed. As an aside, divine based warlocks are considered more acceptable, warlocks that sign pacts with a god are just worshiping in their own way. Origins of Warlock Power: The Fiend Fiends are an old power, far older than Turoon or the dragons. They can only be accessed through difficult rituals with powerful magical objects. They exist in a different plane of existence than the mortals and Turoon, widely operating unknown to them. Fiends are from the Infernal plane, and not much is known about them. They appear mostly in mummers' tales. The Great Old One Great Old Ones are an everlasting constant of the universe. They exist like infinitely powerful space cows, roaming around the astral plane, going about their business across the galaxy. Some great old ones originate deep within the underdark, or from far into the ocean. On the rare occasion that they do visit the Shrouded Isles, they appear as massive, squid-like creatures flying across the sky. When they come, they offer their boons to anyone willing to sell their soul. The Fey There have always been rumors that Turoon was secretly a fey-pact warlock. The Feywild has been opened on numerous occasions by the wizards at the Academy. The fey has never been explored, as transportation to the feywild causes magical fluctuations deemed unsafe by the Academy. That said, there have been instances of fey creatures transporting themselves to the Shrouded Isles and taking on warlocks as their servants. These pacts ask for nothing but your eyes, which they use to keep tabs on the mortal plane. The motives of fey creatures are not easily understood, but there is almost certainly some scheming going on behind the scenes. The Undying/The Lich The lich pact is different in that the overlord is, or was, mortal. Liches are powerful wizards who have defied the motives of creation and achieved immortality. These liches are highly illegal, and almost always evil. Therefore, their servants are just as illegal. The Hexblade The hexblade is a strange pact, drawing power from a magical item of extreme power. These weapons always originate from some strange place, whether from a different plane, or older than history can track. Hexblades do not tend to choose to take a pact, they tend to be selected by the weapon themselves. The Seeker Seekers are similar to great old ones, but less sinister. They are all encompassing seekers of knowledge. They almost never take a physical form, and manifest themselves as lucid dreams in the minds of their chosen. The Raven Queen The existence of The Raven Queen posits a question to Academy scientists. Her existence has been confirmed through magical interrogation of her warlocks. But anything regarding her physical form, or her place of residence has never been discovered. Notably, her warlocks tend to be formed in some alternate dimension (equivalent to the shadowfell), and then travel here as agents of her evil motives. Reality vs. Law There is a fundamental issue with how the empire views magic from a legality standpoint. From the imperial perspective, practice of magic without a license or not through an approved method is illegal. However, the reality is that not every person to ever practice magic is a full out wizard or sorcerer. Is a monk of an independent order a practitioner of magic if they can channel their Ki to create firebolts? Is a paladin who swears an oath to their bloodline and gets their power through their ancestors a warlock? Is a ranger who has lived in the forest long enough to manipulate their magic an unlicensed wizard? These questions remain almost entirely unanswered by the empire, and therefore exist in a legal grey-zone of suspicion, but almost never legal persecution. On top of the legal issues, societies are varied in the Shrouded Isles. Someone in the capital of the White Island may see any magic as cause for alarm, whereas a peasant living in the Blue Island may see these practices as commonplace. Generally speaking, those who see magic as a threat fit into one of three categories: Authority figures (guards, nobles, etc), inexperienced with magic (people who have never seen it before), or narrowminded religious figured (priests and clerics who might see other methods of magic as dangerous.)